> We send check point number, time ,
> and horses going past at that time
> HORSE,3,10:00,1,2,3,4,5
> HORSE,3,10:01,6,7,8,9,10
Assuming down there that just about everyone into APRS
has a D7, then it might be Better to use APRS so that
you can use simple D7's or D700's at the checkpoints
without any fuss with a PC. Maybe you dont have lots
of D7's or D700's down there, but up here, most people
have them and it sure makes easy entry...
If the format is designed for easy entry... that is,
Here is what I would use for the APRS message format.
1) dont enter TIME wiht a colon. Takes longer
2) Dont retype HORSE each time
3) For D7 entries just press each D7 key once instead of the actual digit characters, since digits take 4 key strokes per digit. The two examples above when formatted from the TTpad
of the D7 would be entered as:
3#1000#1#2#3#4#5
3#1001#6#7#8#9#10
But on the air would look like this:
d?q ?q?a?d?g?j
d?q q?m?p?t?w?q_
But since you are writing softwware to put it into your data base, then the software can just as easy read the alpha characters and convert them to digits...
Anyway, we always thought that D7 TTpad data entry was the way to go. And if you were running APRStt (touchtone) then anyone with any DTMF HT could enter the same data too, since APRStt would convert it from DTMF to APRS at the APRStt engine. This way you get 100% participation and not just those with the D7. But APRStt never caught on..
Those at a PC would still enter the the message
like this
3,1000,1,2,3,4,5
3,1001,6,7,8,9,10
etc
just a thought. Depending on whether y ou have a lot
of D7's for easy data entry...
de Wb4APR, Bob